Tunnel plan covered in 34K pages

Tuesday

Dec 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Find those reading glasses and take a comfy seat. Gov. Jerry Brown's administration on Monday released more than 34,000 pages detailing his plan to divert water away from the Delta through two giant tunnels.

Alex Breitler

Find those reading glasses and take a comfy seat. Gov. Jerry Brown's administration on Monday released more than 34,000 pages detailing his plan to divert water away from the Delta through two giant tunnels.

Whether anyone really will read the entire tome, of course, is doubtful.

But the release of the documents does mean the public soon will have its first formal opportunity to comment on the $24.7 billion plan, which has been under development for seven years.

A series of public meetings is scheduled, including one in Stockton on Jan. 21.

The release of the plan marks the first time since the old Peripheral Canal debate of the late 1970s and 1980s that a formal proposal has been made to "isolate" a portion of the fresh water flowing into the estuary, the largest on the West Coast.

San Joaquin County officials were just beginning to review the plan Monday, a spokeswoman said.

But already, they were skeptical about where the process would lead.

"How many people will actually read through thousands of pages of technical jargon and nonsense in order to figure out how the project will affect their communities?" San Joaquin County Supervisor Larry Ruhstaller said. "Truth be told, this public comment period is really just a charade. Based on the experience of the Delta, it is unlikely that proponents will take into consideration any input from people who don't agree with them."

Informal drafts of the plan were released earlier this year, and at first glance Monday, it appeared the new version was substantially the same.

The 40-foot-wide tunnels would take water from the Sacramento River near Hood to existing export pumps near Tracy, about 35 miles to the south. Construction would take nearly a decade.

The project could improve water supplies some years for cities and farms as far south as San Diego, although the consequences of climate change and California's growing demand for water also could result in similar or even lower deliveries than they receive today, the new documents show.

The tunnels are only one aspect of the so-called Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which also seeks to improve the environment by converting more than 100,000 acres of farmland into habitat for fish and wildlife. There also are measures proposed to control exotic weeds, reduce predatory fish and improve water quality in the Stockton Deep Water Channel, among others.

State Natural Resources Secretary John Laird on Monday called it a "rational, balanced plan to help meet the needs of all Californians for generations to come."